"H—"
Diantha sucked in a sharp breath, like something had just clicked into place.
From what Cynthia and that shiny Gardevoir were saying…
That rookie Trainer named Elias had apparently wandered into the forest outside Lumiose City.
Add Dianna's message about an intruder, and a chilling guess surfaced in Diantha's mind.
"N-No way… it can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
She stared at the laptop and forced the words out.
Her reaction, of course, caught Cynthia's attention.
"Diantha, what's wrong?" Cynthia asked, concern knitting her brows as she watched her friend's face tighten.
Diantha snapped back into her seat, grabbed the laptop, and pulled it closer with brisk, decisive movements.
She didn't even have the bandwidth to admire the shiny Gardevoir anymore.
"Cynthia… it's possible—just possible—that your little boyfriend has wandered into a very dangerous place. But don't worry. I'm already getting help."
As she spoke, Diantha typed quickly, explaining the situation to Dianna.
But…
For some reason, there was no reply. The message still sat there marked [Unread].
"Diantha, what's going on?" Cynthia pressed, frowning at her friend's suddenly pale face.
As an actress, Diantha's emotional control was famously the best among the Champions.
She shouldn't be making an expression like this—unless…
Unless where Elias had gone was truly dangerous. Dangerous enough that Diantha thought he might die there outright.
And that was exactly it.
In Diantha's eyes, she was a participant in Diancie's operation, too.
If her friend's boyfriend got hurt because of it, she couldn't pretend it had nothing to do with her.
Under Cynthia's searching gaze, sweat prickled along Diantha's back. She hesitated, words catching in her throat.
A Champion… colluding with a criminal organization.
No matter how you framed it, it wasn't something she could say out loud.
And then ss if her patience had run out, the shiny Gardevoir beside Cynthia rose to her feet.
Diantha's eyes widened slightly.
Gone was the earlier guilt and fragile self-blame. Now Gardevoir looked down at her from above, calm and distant.
"Garde. (What's the reason? Say it.)"
The voice rang directly in Diantha's mind—icy, like it had been tempered in winter—making a chill crawl up her spine.
The Gardevoir beside Diantha sensed something wrong as well.
The moment her Trainer mentioned that Trainer, the shiny one's presence had changed.
Just moments ago, she'd looked easy to bully…
Confused though she was, Diantha's Gardevoir still couldn't tolerate her Trainer being pressured like this.
She gathered a trace of psychic energy, about to stand.
But eith one indifferent glance from the shiny Gardevoir, Diantha's Gardevoir stiffened, as if something terrifying had locked onto her.
Logic told her it was still just a Gardevoir—and she was the strongest Gardevoir here.
Her body told a different story.
She didn't get up.
Feeling the restless, sharp psychokinesis rolling off the shiny Gardevoir, Diantha swallowed.
Even with a Champion's eye, she couldn't gauge this Gardevoir's exact level.
But one thing was certain...
She was stronger than hers.
That realization made Diantha's breathing hitch.
Ever since she'd grown into her own—and after her Gardevoir had even gone through months of training under Elias—she hadn't seen a Gardevoir stronger than hers.
She'd even started believing hers was the ceiling. The strongest Gardevoir in the world.
And yet here was one that was stronger.
And shiny, at that.
Diantha threw Cynthia a complicated look.
Was her friend's little boyfriend really a "rookie Trainer"?
Then what was this Gardevoir—some family treasure passed down for generations?
While her thoughts spun, Diantha made a suggestion.
"Gardevoir… how about we talk while we move?"
She gestured toward the forest. The meaning couldn't have been clearer.
Diantha understood: no matter what she said, once Gardevoir learned about Yveltal, she would go.
And Diantha couldn't stop a Gardevoir like this.
And lying?
Trying to lie in front of a Gardevoir—one that could read emotions—was easily one of the stupidest things you could do in this world.
If so, she might as well lead her there willingly.
Maybe then Gardevoir would even help deal with Yveltal.
At Diantha's suggestion, Gardevoir gave a faint nod.
She only wanted to find Elias as fast as possible.
Everything else… she didn't care much about.
...
Had this Diancie gone insane?
Elsewhere, Xerneas still moved with her usual nimble grace as she bounded across the ground, but her aura carried an unmistakable edge of disarray.
Staring at Diancie in the distance, irritation flickered across her face.
Just like years ago, Diancie had turned herself into a turret again.
She didn't seem to think about stamina at all—she was just dumping moves nonstop, firing them off in an overwhelming stream.
And in the process, Xerneas fully absorbed a lesson she'd picked up from humans—when you hit hard enough, you really can brute-force anything.
The dense barrages of Diamond Storm, the ground splitting open again and again, the occasional boulder smashing straight at her…
All of it made both her and Yveltal suffer.
Luckily, Diancie's focus still seemed to be on Yveltal. Yveltal was taking serious damage, while Xerneas herself was mostly untouched.
"She should be close to running out, right?"
After dodging a few more rocks, Xerneas exhaled, looking toward Diancie with cautious hope.
Diancie was furious right now—there was no reasoning with her.
Only once she was completely exhausted would it be possible to talk.
That thought had barely formed when—
BAM!
A huge boulder suddenly burst out of the earth.
Its tip was jagged and sharp, and it erupted with violent force, tearing free of the ground with a howling rush of air.
THUD.
Caught off guard, Xerneas felt a brutal impact slam into her abdomen.
The force rippled through her insides. She crashed hard to the ground, her expression twisting.
At the same time, a sweeping wave of Diamond Storm surged toward her.
Diancie had abruptly changed tactics—attacks that had been aimed at Yveltal were now all locked onto Xerneas.
…This is bad.
Xerneas froze, finally realizing just how awful her situation had become.
---
T/N: UGH diancie again, XERNEAS ISNT EVEN ATTACKING BACK!!! HELLO??? USE YOUR BRAIN YOU FUCKING ROCK
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